News

Transport Minister, Edwina Hart, has announced a £4.5m three-year programme to improve safety at more than 40 schools on trunk roads throughout Wales, mostly through the use of part-time 20mph speed limits.

Following a Welsh Government review of safety on walking and cycling routes to schools on Wales’ trunk road network, 56 schools were identified as having potential for road safety improvements. Earlier this year part-time advisory 20mph speed limits were introduced at eight schools, and they are now in the process of being made permanent.

The Minister announced 41 more schools would receive part time 20mph limits, three will get engineering measures to improve safety and four had no measures identified but will now be part of discussions with the local authority about what else can be done to improve safety. The work will be completed over the next three years.

Launched by Road Safety Wales, the CRASH Cards are being made available from motorcycle dealers and road safety teams throughout Wales. The cards contain space to record information which could be vital to paramedics – including medical history and details of any medication currently being taken. There is also space to list the name and contact number of a next of kin.

The cards were created by the Ambulance Motorcycle Club (AMC), and are already used in a number of areas in England, Northern Ireland and parts of Wales.

Road safety teams have been working in partnership with other road safety professionals who make up Road Safety Wales, and the scheme has the backing of the Wales NHS Ambulance Trust.

A young motorist from Pembrokeshire has steered into a cash prize after taking extra driving tuition.

Hanako Lander from Clunderwen has won £250 as the latest winner of the Pass Plus Cymru quarterly draw.

The 19 year-old’s name was drawn from a list of hundreds of young Welsh motorists who have recently completed the course aimed at making them better drivers. The post-driving test training programme provides young drivers with further tuition to help them improve their road skills.

Whilst the number of casualties on the roads in Dyfed Powys has fallen over the last few years police officers are reminding drivers and riders to take care when they are on the road and to drive safely and not put themselves or other road users in danger.

Between 1st January and 20th August 2015 there have been 22 fatal road traffic collisions which have resulted in 26 fatalities. Unfortunately these figures are very similar for the same period in 2014 when there were 23 fatal road traffic collisions which resulted in 27 fatalities.

The number of fatal casualties can be broken down for each county: Carmarthenshire five, Ceredigion five, Pembrokeshire six and Powys ten.

Firefighters from Crickhowell and Brecon were called to a serious road traffic collision involving a car and a campervan on the A40 near Bwlch in Brecon on Sunday (9th August) which closed the road for several hours. Firefighters needed hydraulic cutting equipment to release one of the passengers who was treated by ambulance crews at the scene.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Road Safety WarningOn Saturday (8th August), fire crews from Brecon and Talgarth were called to another road traffic collision on the A470 near Felinfach, Brecon. This incident involving two private motor vehicles, one of which was towing a caravan, also closed the road for a substantial period of time. Firefighters again needed to use hydraulic cutting equipment to release a seriously injured passenger, who after receiving first aid from firefighters was airlifted to hospital by air ambulance.

Neil Evans, Mid and West Wales Fire & Rescue Service Road Safety Manager said: “We are seeing too many deaths and injuries on our roads this summer. We need you as road users to assist us in reducing these deaths and injuries. Don’t become a statistic yourself.”

Wales’ roads users have been issued a summer harvest plea by a Police and Crime Commissioner: “Stay safe at this busy time for farmers!” Christopher Salmon, who grew up on a Mid Wales farm, is asking all motorists – including those involved in transporting silage on rural roads – to take extra care as the silage season enters its final weeks.

He asks the public to be patient as they encounter increased agricultural traffic, and asks farmers to be thoughtful of others. Mr Salmon, Police and Crime Commissioner for the predominantly rural Dyfed-Powys, said: “A number of people have raised concerns about agricultural vehicles with me recently.

“I want to ensure that farmers get their silage in and that the public can be safe.

Over 350 breath tests were positive throughout Wales during the recent month-long Anti Drink and Drug Drive Summer Campaign. The campaign, which was led by North Wales Police, saw officers carrying out over 12,000 breath tests and 52 arrests were made under the new Section 5a drug drive offence which came into being on March 4th 2015, giving officers the ability to test for cannabis and cocaine use.

North Wales Police administered 5,235 breath tests with 85 being positive. The force also carried out 20 DrugWipe tests, using the new kit, half of those tested failed.

Gwent Police carried out 297 breath tests with 17 testing positive, refusing or failing to provide. 19 people were arrested following a Section 5a drug test.

In response to the Welsh Government's 'Road Safety Framework for Wales', Monday 20th July saw the launch of the Welsh Fire and Rescue Service's 'Road Safety Strategy' providing a framework for the three Welsh FRS to communicate and implement their road safety commitments on a national and local level.

Chief Fire Officer for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (MAWWFRS), Chris Davies said: "Road safety has improved considerably in recent years. In 2014 there were 8,208 reported casualties as a result of road traffic collisions in Wales, this is a 30% reduction on the number of casualties seen on our roads 10 years ago. While the number of incidents has declined, statistics show a 12% increase in the number of people seriously injured on our roads in the last year, with poor driving and observation the leading cause of collisions. Clearly, while much has been achieved through collaborative working with our road safety partners, more needs to be done.

A disproportionate number of vulnerable road users including young people (16 to 24 year olds) and motorcyclists are killed or seriously injured compared to other groups. Despite making up 11% of driving licence holders, young people represent 23% of casualties in road traffic collisions in Wales.

Community Support Officer Amanda Yung from Abergavenny Team has been working to tackle an ongoing issue with anti-social driving, along with educating young drivers about safe driving following 19 fatal road traffic collisions in Gwent since January 2014.

CSO Yung organised an event in Abergavenny in June along with partner agencies including the Road Safety Team from Monmouthshire County Council and South Wales Fire and Rescue.

The event was held at a local car park where high reports of anti-social driving had been received. The aim of the event was to encourage residents to go along and meet the young people and give their views on how the driving and behaviour was affecting them.

The latest police recorded road accident and casualty figures for Wales for 2014 show that, 103 people were killed on Welsh roads last year, a decreased of 7% compared to 2013. However, Partners in Road Safety Wales remain concerned that the slight overall improvement in the casualty figures has been overshadowed by the increase in the number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured on Welsh roads. (10% higher than the average for 2004-08)*

Susan Storch, Chair of Road Safety Wales said, “Wales welcomes motorcyclists who are naturally drawn to the stunning scenery, winding roads, and motorcycle friendly businesses. However, Partners are concerned about the number who do not make it safely home, whether they are on a day out or riding to and from work.”

The Road Safety Framework for Wales published in 2013 identifies motorcyclists as a high risk group, and road safety professionals remain focussed on meeting the challenging target of a 25% reduction in number of killed and seriously injured motorcyclists by 2020.** Clearly much remains to be done.